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Monthly Archives: August 2017

The United States of America is on the verge of a political and social breakdown. It is no longer about the right or the left, no longer about Democrat or Republican. It’s about our nation and its leader at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and his mental state. The man from New York City doubled down on his statements about the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia on Monday August 14th. He did not call out the White supremacist and in a sneaky backhanded way tried to blame the counter-protesters for the violence.

Question, why would you bring chains, bricks, bats, guns, and wear combat helmets to a protest? The right wing has no answer.

Many Americans including my father are in disbelief and shock that this president is currently defending White Nationalist and fascism. These veterans faced death every day in the South Pacific and Germany to free the world in the 1940 global war. These 80 and 90 year olds are upset that this dark political force has re-entered the United States.

credit@sirmitchell

Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah stated “We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home.”

America’s top-ranking military officers spoke out against racial bigotry and extremism. It was a rare public foray into domestic politics, revealing growing unease at the Pentagon with some of Number 45’s policies and views. Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff all posted messages on their official Twitter accounts to denounce the far right extremist behind Saturdays violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

General Milley said, “The Army does not tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It’s against our values and everything we’ve stood for since 1775.”

The message did not mention Number 45; the rebuke seemed clear after the furor over the president’s insistence that “both sides” were to blame for the violence around the rally.

Admiral Richardson stated “The Navy will forever stand against intolerance and hatred. We want our Navy to be the safest possible place-a team as strong and tough as we can be, saving violence only for our enemies.”

The message from America’s military leaders had special resonance because several of those who played prominent roles in the far right rally had served in uniform.

Marine commandant General Neller stated “No place for racial hatred or extremism in USMC”

Air Force General Goldfein tweeted he stood “with my fellow service chiefs in saying that we’re always stronger together.”

The military has also moved to publicly disavow White nationalists who were photographed wearing military-affiliated clothing or gear.

CNN reporter Don Lemon could not have made it clearer. “The history of this country came out of racism, it came out of slavery and those people who were there (protesting) want to keep people like me enslaved.

That’s why they are protesting. And to talk about the removal of monuments at Robert E. Lee High School. Can you imagine having to go to school that has the name of your oppressor on it? Or walking into a building and seeing a Confederate flag? (EVERYDAY)

Imagine you’re a Jewish person in Germany and you had to go to Hitler High School or Goebbels Elementary School or Middle School. That would be completely offensive to you on the deepest level and that’s how people of color feel in this country. When we have to deal with figures like Robert E. Lee, like Confederate flags, it is no different than flying a swastika. It is insulting.

The president is ignorant of history, he does not know context. He should be ashamed of himself. He should go back to school and get an elementary education on how this country started and about protest groups and how this country works and who he represents and who he should represent.

So for Republicans: When is enough, enough? What is the breaking point? What is the moral compass of your party? Who is the moral conscience and compass of this country right now? WE ARE LEADERLESS, MORALLY.”

This is another racial wakeup call for everybody just as there was a call to end segregation, a call to end Jim Crow, a call for voter’s rights, a call for equal education now there is now a call to end the Radical Right or Alt Right Movement.

The last time the world citizens were silent against white nationalists, more than six million people died and the Jewish Nation does not let anyone forget.

Months ago the man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue told everybody what he was going to do. NOBODY believed him. He stated ” I can shoot somebody in the middle of a New York street and they would still vote for me.”

We now have a man in the White House that has little or no compassion for anybody outside of his own culture.

Number 45 used every political racial dog whistle he could find and used it for eight months to gain the White House.

He also stated 25 years ago that he could run as a Republican candidate for president and win because their fan base was not intelligent…

He has told his followers during the 2016 presidential campaign to beat and punch people then throw them out of his rallies if they did not agree. That was a warning sign. America did not listen. Does this sound familiar?

My history teacher in Edgewater Park, New Jersey told the eighth grade history class if we don’t pay attention to past history we are doomed to repeat it, we are on our way to repeating the 1930-1940 German national mistake.

We now have a person with a moral credibility issue, a person who has no conscience, and a bully. Just as Germany promoted Adolf Hitler, to lead their country into war, America put a business man in office to lead the country into a state of continuing confusion.

Number 45 claimed that Barack Obama was born in Africa only to recant that near the end of the campaign. He told a story that thousands of Moslems in New Jersey cheered when the Twin Towers fell September 11th. He repeated the claim that three million to five million illegal votes caused him to lose the popular vote. He calls the news media he does not like fake news. These are just some of the inaccurate statements this country’s leader has stated.

WHITE PRIVILEGE

When the United States deals with this openly and honestly we as a nation can move forward. Number 45 is a recipient of White Privilege; his father gave him lots of money to start his own company.

The current President has taken more vacations and has spent more money on security in 8 months then the former President, Barack Obama took in 8 years, guess who complained the loudest about President Obama’s vacation and security details? NUMBER 45

1.) White males can create problems in the street marching with Confederate and Nazi Flags all day and then fade into the community without a trace.

2.) White males have friends in the police department. For example, how many officers are sitting in jail for shooting anybody by mistake?

3.) Flying the confederate flag 160 years after the war to intimidate people. THEY LOST, at least that is what we are told. Question, when was the last time the losing side of any war kept flying their flag?

It is interesting on Saturday these young Caucasians carried and marched with the Confederate Flag along with the Nazi swastika flag. Is this not respecting America?HMMMM!!! Then again that is the privilege card.

IMMIGRATION

This president has not been fair on this issue and it has to be addressed. Number 45 has targeted immigrants from South America and Central America and wants to send them home.

He targets individuals from Islamic States like Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan but he never mentions the undocumented immigrants from Mainland China or Indo-China that move to Washington State, California, and Arizona.

He never speaks about the undocumented immigrants that fly in from Eastern Europe and Russia without legal papers and stay in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Central Pennsylvania. We all have to ask why?

Number 45 focuses on Latino and Muslim undocumented immigrants because they are defenseless and poor. He focuses on them because they are brown. He focuses on them because they are mostly manual laborers. One group is looking for a better life in the United States the other group fleeing from the horrors of war. Number 45 thinks they cannot help his business so he has no use for them. They are expendable. This is the new attitude in Washington. What this president does not understand that there are Latin American and Muslim American nurses, doctors, lawyers, and politicians that truly make America great.

CONCLUSION

President Kennedy spoke about this issue over 60 years ago. This is how a real President shuts down racism.

“ This Nation was founded by many nations and backgrounds.

It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal and the rights of every man is diminished when the rights of one man are threaten.

It ought to be possible, in short, for every American, to enjoy the privilege to be American without regard to his race or color.

In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he wish to be traded as one wished his children to be treated.

But this is not the case. 100 years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not truly free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice.

They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this nation for all of its hopes and all of its boast will not be fully free until all of its citizens are free.

We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is a clear as the American Constitution.

It cannot be met with by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk.

It is a time to act in the Congress, in your state, and local legislative bodies, and above all in all of our daily lives.

Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly and recognizing right as well as reality.”

While all of this is going on The American Justice Department is requesting information on Americans who protested at Number 45’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. eight months ago and who visited the web site DreamHost.com who had information coordination Inauguration Day protest. There is a chill covering America.

Gary Norris Gray – Writer, Author, Historian, Gibbs Magazine-Oakland, California and New England Informer- Boston, Mass. THE GRAYLINE:- The Analects of A Black Disabled Man, The Gray Leopard Cove, Soul Tree Radio In The Raw, and The Batchelor Pad Network, Disabled Community Activist. Email at garyngray@blackathlete.com

Who does America hate more? The United States of America created the inequities with its Black population and compounded the problem with white supremacy, racism, and white male privilege. Every decade there is a new list of Black American men that this country despises.

This decade it is, Orenthal James O.J. Simpson, Mike Vick, Colin Kaepernick, Bill Cosby, or President Barack Obama. These five individuals have one thing in common and the United States of America has to come to terms with itself. This country has to come to terms with its double standard. Caucasian Americans see it this way Cosby, OJ, and Vick are all guilty of pretty horrific crimes. All three of these males are a threat to their secure America. Obama and Kaepernick are both so called distant heroes because they do not threaten that security. White Americans continue to see it this way because they are told that Black males cannot be heroes.

O.J. Simpson

Let’s begin with “If the gloves don’t fit, you must acquit.” O.J. Simpson from Northern California Bay Area and the city of San Francisco at Galileo High School. Simpson became a football star with the University of Southern California football team. The Trojans gained fame with NCAA records, a National Football Championship in 1967, and the Heisman Trophy in 1968.

In 1979 he divorced his first wife Marguerite and five years later marry Nicole Brown that same year he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Marguerite would have kept O.J. out of trouble. Nicole was too young to understand the racial, political, and economic dynamics around this marriage, add drugs to the mix and BOOM.

America had no feelings for Simpson until Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Mr. Ronald Goldman were found dead outside of her Los Angeles – Brentwood condominium on July 12, 1994. Simpson was and still is the only suspect in this case. This are the hypocrisies of the United States if Mr. Simpson had killed his first wife who was BLACK nobody in America would have notice or cared. BLACK LIVES MATTER. Mr. Simpson became public enemy number one with the help of the American news media. The attack on African American men had just started with Simpson became the easy symbol for white America because he (allegedly) killed one of their golden girls. Women did not like Simpson because he was an (alleged) abuser and African Americans did not like him because he wanted nothing to do with Black America. Simpson was isolated from his community, isolated from his culture, with a streak of anger expressed through football became his downfall.

America still hates O.J. (guilty until proven innocent) because this country still believes he got away with double murder. The American press did not inform the American public about the drug issues with this family and the South American connection until after the conclusion of the trail. Remember facts get in the way of the truth.

The troubling racial feelings are returning twenty years later at his televised parole hearing for burglary and armed robbery charges with the potential release from a Las Vegas jail cell in October, the racist venom has begun to flow once again.

Colin Kaepernick

Black males who take a positive stance on behalf of African Americans receive a negative image for life. This has been historical.

Number two quarterback Colin Kaepernick wanted to make a statement to the United States of America. He thought taking a knee during the Star Spangled Banner before San Francisco 49ers football games would be the most efficient way to communicate this message. The message is that too many unarmed Black men were being shot and killed in this country.

Many Americans lost their minds because Mr. Kaepernick did not respect the country’s national song. A song that has a racial tone in the third stanza, “Just play football and don’t get political.” That had been the mantra for white fans who were upset with Black athletes for over 60 years.

This is what Black men are supposed to do just play their sport. Kaepernick thumped at the heart of America’s problem respecting Black men.

At the start of the 2016 season he was voted the most disliked player in the National Football League by the fans but his fellow teammates voted him the most courageous for his political stance. HMMMMM interesting. Kaepernick did not drink and drive, kill anybody, rape anybody, or broken any NFL laws.

Number seven received death threats for his freedom of speech. Burning his jersey became normal all over the country, while at the same time his jersey became the number one selling jersey for the 49ers. HMMMMMM Apparently the flag is more important than human lives, apparently the racist words in the third stanza in our anthem does not matter either.

Boomer Esiason former quarterback and MVP for the Cincinnati Bengals called Kaepernick’s actions an embarrassment to the N. F. L. I guess Boomer forgot what Muhammad Ali, Carlos and Smith, and WNBA stars Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore stood for.

Mr. Kaepernick now helps the people of Africa with relief food and funds. The Mission of The Colin Kaepernick Foundation is to fight oppression of all kinds globally, through education and social activism. This fine brother is the football version of Roberto Clemente.

Michael Vick

Number three former quarterback Michael Vick showed how America’s deep emotion of hate toward African American males.

At the time Vick was the highest paid player in the league (DO NOT FORGET THIS) and one of the best quarterbacks ever on the field, changing the landscape of this position forever from a drop back passer to a running quarterback.

Vick had to be brought back down to earth because he was changing the landscape in the game and the white ownership did not like it. Vick made the issue of a Black quarterback as their leader; this conversation would not go away. Who is the defacto field general? THE QUARTERBACK, and the owners did not want that to be a BLACK man.

Once again with the help of the American news media Vick became enemy number one. The American public used dog fighting to fling hate arrows at Vick. The media did not inform the public that there were other football players had their hands in dog fighting but why brother when you have the attention of Middle America.

The American press did not inform the masses about the events at dog racing tracks sponsored by the Pittsburgh Steeler ownership where dogs are ethnicized everyday. No, it’s easier to slay a Black man then to defend helpless dogs running around the track. NOT A WORD!!!!

Dogs became more important than Black men and just another reason why BLACK LIVES MATTERS. Now before we get get crazy I love dogs so don’t go there.

Bill Cosby

Let’s begin with this statement nobody has the right to violate another person’s body no-matter what the cause or situation.

Bill Cosby (allegedly) drugged and rapped over fifty women. Cosby is currently in court with numerous sexual assault charges. One thing African American males must understand and comprehend they cannot indulge in the same activities as white males. Black Males are not equal in the eyes of the United States and Barack Obama, Bill Cosby, Mike Vick, Colin Kaepernick, and O.J. Simpson understand this now. Are they all bad guys? Maybe, did they commit the crime? Maybe, but they are not given the same opportunities as white defendants or the chance to be tried by their peers (Black people)? NO, and that is the hypocrisies in this great land.

Bill Cosby real crime was trying to purchase (NBC) the National Broadcasting Company, a major broadcasting network. His real crime was to inform the Black nation what was going on through mass television media. It could not happen, question how do you receive information quickly, it’s through the television mass media Bill Cosby knew this understood this and wanted to use this.

Hypocrisies- White male directors, producers, and television presidents have used the casting couch repeatedly to find new young female actors and very few said a word. Bill Cosby (allegedly) just followed the script but he became a sexual predator, excuse me what is Hugh Hefner-(Playboy Inc.), Stephan Collins-(Seventh Heaven) or the difference between Baltimore running back Raven Ray Rice compared to New York Football Giant kicker Josh Brown. Rice was suspended not once but twice while Mr. Brown got a new contract from the Giant Football organization. Rice did not play a single game after the girlfriend-elevator incident while Mr. Brown’s domestic problems followed him to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

THIS IS WHY BLACK LIVES MATTER

Mr. Cosby -Mr. Huxtables-The upward mobile and educated Black Family-Mr. American Family, the Cosby Kids and lovable joking actor, producer, and director threaten America’s security trying to acquire a national network (NBC) and make Black America Great Again through information.

President Barack Obama

Last and the most threading figure in America today dared America with the “Audacity of Hope.” He challenge America and asked why not a Black man leading the country? He put forth a vision for the future. This man instilled pride and joy in a community that was in dire need of a positive male image outside of sports. Mr. Barack Hussein Obama the esteem Black junior senator from Illinois ascended to the highest office in the country, the President of the United States of America from 2008 to 2016. This mixed cultured gentleman gave hope to many American children not just African American kids who now could truly say I want to be president and mean it.

This event upset that racial apple cart and the United States turned to a business man in 2016 that would “Make America Great Again,” what he really meant was make America white again. This country had to regain that power and control with the snake oil salesmen Donald J. Trump.

In 2017 the racial hate towards African American men continues to flow in the United States of America.

Gary Norris Gray – Writer, Author, Historian, Gibbs Magazine-Oakland, California and New England Informer- Boston, Mass. THE GRAYLINE:- The Analects of A Black Disabled Man, The Gray Leopard Cove, Soul Tree Radio In The Raw, and The Batchelor Pad Network, Disabled Community Activist. Email at garyngray@blackathlete.com